Jumping her way to Central Michigan
WATERLOO — The transition from basketball to track and field was seamless.
Just three years after trading in one sport for another, soon-tobe Cameron Heights graduate Tamara Grahovac has accepted an athletic scholarship to compete for the Central Michigan University Chippewas at the NCAA Division 1 level. The sixfoot-one Grahovac, who signed her letter of intent earlier this month, will travel to Mount Pleasant in mid-August with hopes of taking her jumping game to the next level.
“Listening to Tamara’s story during the recruiting process, it became evident that she has tremendous upside,” said Central Michigan University assistant coach Andrew Basler in an email.
“Obviously being over six-foot tall, she looks the part. However, watching video of her jumping allowed me to see some already established good habits, as well as areas she needs to improve on in order to reach her potential. I will be looking for her to make an immediate impact in not just triple jump, but long jump and possibly high jump as well.”
The personable and well-spoken Grahovac was a club-level basketball player during her Grade 9 year at Cameron Heights but made the switch to track and field in the spring and has never looked back.
She later hooked up with Waterloo-based Supreme Athletics and now trains five times a week with jumps specialist Mitch O’Donnell and speed coach Janusz Tomko. The club made the move to the track at St. David Catholic Secondary School earlier this week after spending the winter months at the Waterloo Rec Complex.
Grahovac is a three-time medallist (two bronze, one silver) at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) track and field championship and last year finished two spots behind St. David graduate Alissa Melvin in the senior triple jump. She currently has a personalbest performance of 11.78 metres in the triple jump and has turned in a 5.53-metre effort in the long jump. She cleared 1.53 metres in the high jump three years ago but hasn’t competed in the discipline since. Her short-term goals are to end high school on a high note by winning OFSAA gold in Toronto and following that up with a strong performance at the Canadian junior championship in Ottawa.
After that, it’s time for the next chapter.
“This has been my ultimate goal, to attend a Division 1 school, so being able to compete at the level with great coaches and people who are striving for the same things, it’s really neat,” said Grahovac. “I’m grateful for the opportunity and I’m working hard to make sure I’m prepared to face the big girls down in the States.”
Huron Heights grad Ryan Taylor and his father Jim Taylor, a well-known jumps coach, helped Grahovac get her foot in the door as both men spoke highly of her to the Chippewas’ coaching staff. Ryan Taylor, a former training partner of Grahovac, won a pair of OFSAA gold medals last season and recently wrapped up his first year at Central Michigan.
Grahovac is appreciative of the help she’s received over the years and is paying it back by lending a hand to Cameron Heights head coach Chuck Thompson as the Golden Gaels prepare for the upcoming high school season.
“Track and field has changed my life, made me a harder work, a better person, more motivated to be successful,” she said.
Grahovac isn’t entirely certain what she’ll take in her first year of studies but said her ultimate goal is medical school.